May 14, 2007

My Accidental Pren-her Beginnings

In June of 2004 I finally did it. I handed in my resignation as an associate professor, and began packing-up the formidable accumulation of books, music, and files from four degrees and 24 years of academic life. Distilled onto one little piece of paper that began with the words “kindly accept my resignation” and ended with “sincerely,” my life as an Accidental Pren-her™ began. Accidental because I didn’t anticipate it happening, and pren-her because I always knew I had it in me.

Becoming a pren-her seems, in retrospect, the most natural thing for me to have done. Though, the trek from resigning from a prestigious academic post to starting up my own successful small business had a lot more start up woes than start up goes. At first, I felt euphoric with the feeling of being liberated from corporate academia. Then, I was slammed by the twin emotions of panic and fear.

Jean Simon shares my perspective and feelings about leaving academia and has written a three-part article about her experience in the Chronicle for Higher Education entitled Goodbye Ivory Tower. Click here to check it out.

Since I had always been a full-time, traditionally employed woman, finding myself out of a job with no idea what I would do next was bloody overwhelming. From one day to the next, I couldn’t tell whether I was feeling exhilarated at being free to do, be, have whatever I wanted, or shocked by the aftermath of disbelief as the reality of what I had done began to sink in.

Most of the time I felt 98 % excitement and 2% scared, or was it 2% excitement and 98% scared?I just didn’t know! This is what I think makes the whole becoming a pren-her experience so intense for us all.

One of the best things I did for myself soon after I got a grip on myself was do a life-review. For in doing so, one of the things I noticed was that at the inner core of my being there beat the Samurai heart of an entrepreneur. In so many big and small ways, from the lemonade stand outside my childhood home on Clemson Drive in Mt. Lebanon, PA., to organizing a university choir trip to Israel, I was, through-n-through, an entrepreneur.

Just recently, I wrote an article about the top 10 characteristics of highly successful entrepreneurs. Do You Have What It Takes To Become A Preneur? lists these characteristics. I have been flattered and amazed that this article bas been picked up by so many business sites like CEO Consultant and featured on the business advice area at Build Your Own Business.

Top 10 Characteristics of Preneurs

1. You have a strong desire to live life on your own terms2. You are an independent self-starter3. You have a powerful drive to make money4. You are a calculated risk-taker5. You like to be in control 6. You are highly self-motivated7. You had childhood experiences as a budding entrepreneur8. You have a high level of sustainable energy9. You are creative and innovative10. You are a big-picture thinker

If you are an Accidental Pren-her™ and are in the midst of your own life review, click here to read more. If you have your own becoming a pren-her story to share, click ‘post,’ now and let us read all about it.